One of the Greek myths that has captured even modern imaginations is that of Medusa.

In the Greek myth, Medusa was a priestess for Athena. Poseidon violated her inside Athena’s temple and Athena was so enraged by the sacrilege she changed Medusa from a beautiful girl into a monster with venomous snakes for hair and a gaze that turned people into stone.

Medusa and her two sisters were banished to a small, faraway island where they lived until Perseus slew Medusa. (He used her head as a weapon but that is another story.)

Here are my takeaways. Athena was supposed to be the goddess of wisdom but she chose to punish Medusa instead of Poseidon. Athena was a powerful goddess but instead of confronting another God she attacked a mortal woman.

Clearly, the attitudes toward rape haven’t changed much. Many of the rape victims in the Greek myths, like Medusa, are the ones punished, not the rapists.

According to some of the sourcesI read, this is an example of the unfairness of divine retribution in the Greek myths. The Gods were frequently unfair.